a surprisingly large collection of bottles.)we had two. and luckily, one happened to be blanco,which was what this recipe called for.one day, on a friday that i was home,i blistered two jalapenos under the broiler until they weretender through and through,but brown and crispy on the top.after careful consideration, i seededthe hot peppers, chopped them up andtossed them into a glass bowl filledwith tequila. and then, even thoughi had seriously thought it out beforehand,scolded myself for being a chicken.the recipe called for the jalapenos with their seeds and if i opted to remove themand then drank a spice-less drink later,it would be on me. but, what if it wasso spicy that i was miserable?i compromised with the seedsof the larger pepper.i juiced six limes,shocked that i ended upwith exactly one cup.that night, i pulled the strained tequilaand the lime juice from the fridge, plus a bit of agave.i stirred them altogether,with some ice cubes and waited.i waited more for the ice cubes todissolve as instructed in the recipe.larry came home from work,changed, went down into the basementand came back up with a bottle of bourbon.what. are. you. doing?bourbon was in one hand,the recipe for that night's dinnerin the other - i don't think he knew howto answer the question, ormore specifically, where he went wrong.i've been making this cocktail for you all day,i countered.he looked unconvinced: i think you were making this for you. but, ok,i'm ready.i sighed.your cocktail is not, i told him.the ice cubes still have to melt.he sighed, but he put the bourbonback in the basement and started making dinner.when it was finally time,i poured the tequila gimlet - the drink i was so excited about becauseit combined several things:the drink i can sometimes stomach (a gimlet),lime juiceand roasted jalapenos -into a glass,garnished it with lime and took a sip.it was a margarita.i had made a spicy margarita.how had i not realized this before?had i been too blinded by thefancy word gimlet and the roasted jalapenos?the drink was good.it was spicy and limey andeverything, but it was still amargarita. and frankly, me and margaritasare at best casual acquaintances who,with the exception of random nightsat an excellent mexican restaurant, tolerate each other.we both drank it.and it was nice and different and fine.but the next day, i woke up thinkingabout the other half of the jalapeno tequila sitting in the fridge.i wasn't ready to give up on it.it took me two days to stumble upona bottle of diet tonic water in the storeand think that maybe that was the answer.it took me two more weeks to find a nightto mix it all together, half casually,half mad scientist on a mission.i started with a little agave,added a little lime,poured in the tequila, added ice cubes and topped thewhole glass with the tonic.sadly, i don't think it struckme until after that it wasvery,verysimilar to the original.but when i took a sip,i knew i had stumbled upon...something.this was my drink.ok, even now, i know that'snot true.this may be my once a year drink because frankly,i know myself well enough toknow that i am not going toroast jalapenos toss them intotequila very often.but, this drink.it was spicy - i'm thinkingextra spicy thanks to the twoweeks of sitting and probablypartially evaporating -but it was also light and interestingand not so serious.this weekend,with less than one quarter of the tequila remaining,i set out to recreate.it took some tinkering,but i think it was pretty close to the drink that i had made a week before.i sipped on it proudly,trying not to second guess the amountof lime, trying to not decide if as barely-a-drinker-turned-bartender,i had added too much tequila to a drinkfor one and decided to just, be.roasted jalapeno tequilaadapted from bon appetit magazinethe one thing i really have to say about this is that, obviously, if your jalapenos aren't spicy, your tequila will not be spicy. it's the luck of the draw. but, i would taste the roasted jalapeno before adding it the tequila. if it's not spicy, i would hold off on making it.2 jalapenos2 cups tequila blancoheat broiler, grill or the flame on your stove top. place jalapeno on grill, on broiler pan or on flame and cook 3-6 minutes, or until jalapenos are soft and blistered, turning often. when cool enough to handle, seed jalapenos, if desired. chop jalapenos. transfer jalapenos and seeds (if using) to a glass bowl or jar with tequila. stir to combine. let sit 1 hour. strain tequila into a sieve set over a pitcher, pressing on solids to release extra liquid. discard solids.roasted jalapeno tequila coolerat this point in my life, i'm using diet tonic water. if that makes you sad, go with regular tonic.2 teaspoons agave2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus squeezed lime halves1/3 cup roasted jalapeno tequilahandful of ice cubes1/2-3/4 cup diet tonic waterin large glass, stir together agave, lime juice and tequila. add ice cubes and squeezed lime. top with 1/2 cup tonic water. stir gently, just to combine. taste and add up to 1/4 cup more tonic water, if desired.jalapeno tequila gimletadapted from bon appetit magazinethe one change i made to this recipe was to reduce the agave from 1/2 cup to 2 tablespoons. i'm sure it would have been tastier with more, but i didn't miss the extra sweetness.2 cups roasted jalapeno tequila2 cups ice cubes1 cup fresh lime juice2 tablespoons agavein pitcher, stir together all ingredients. let stand until ice cubes have melted, stirring occasionally. divide gimlet among 4 to 8 glasses, depending on your crowd.

Friday, August 10, 2012

for the past eight months,we've been pretty careful abouteverything that we've been eating,and in turn, everything that we'recooking. but, here's the thing:i'm a food person. i will not surviveon grilled chicken breast and steamedbroccoli. i cannot.i would be bored.i would be annoyed.i would miss the fun that comeswith discovering a new ingredientor the joy that comes with makingsomething that's really special to eat.so that broccoli? it's roasted.and that chicken? well, it's hardly everon my plate because frankly, i think it's obviousif you read this blog that i'm not too into chicken.i've been extremely strategic in preparing food that'sinteresting,that tastes good,that we might actually look forward to eating.and for the most part, it's worked.but, here's the other thing:our dinners have started to seriously resemble each other.most nights, we eat a salad -usually with arugula at the base,sometimes baby kale,often topped with beans or lentils,or seasonal fruit. they are good hearty salads -the kind that i would be quick to order ina restaurant, not because they're better for me,but because they look most desirable on a menu:grilled scallops with peas and feta,lentils with roasted sweet potatoes and goat cheese,sardines with chickpeas, tomatoes and peppadews,grilled shrimp and fill-in-the-blank with whatever's in the fridge.oh, the shrimp.there have been a lot of shrimp.between larry's love for steak and chicken,and my dislike, combined with my ability to be happy eating mostly vegetables,shrimp is a good compromise.so, i'm always searching the grocery store aislesfor new inspiration and the magazines for new recipes.we've had some hits,like roasted fish with tomatoes and olives,a (very) modified version of our favorite quesadillaand spicy korean tofu soup,but none felt quite as inspired as thisfalafel-stuffed eggplant with tahini sauce and tomato relishfrom a spring issue ofcooking light.something about the recipe made me feellike it was a real recipe, genuinely conceptualizedand created with an end result in mind.i didn't have to make it to know that it would work,but with one bite, i was glad that mysuspicions were confirmed.i won't lie - there are a lot of ingredients.i had many in the house:a can of chickpeas,the tahini,garlic,an onion,a lemon,breadcrumbs,the spiceseggs.but, i had to buy a few, too:like the vegetables that i wanted to be fresh.the eggplant,the tomatoes,the cucumbers and the cilantro.and there's a good amount of food to prepare:you're asked to halve eggplants,score them,roast them,remove their fleshy centers,make a filling to stuff their centers,re-stuff the cavities,bake them again,make a tahini sauceand prepare a tomato salad.somehow, all of these things can get donein just over an hour, if you're strategic.but, regardless of how long it takes to you,it's foolproof pretty.need proof? see: name of blog.it's knife and fork good, which in my experience,makes people feel like they're eating real food.and, around here these days, that's important.falafel-stuffed eggplantadapted from cooking light magazinei made a couple of changes to the recipe based on both, ingredients that i had on hand and a few small mistakes that i made. i used vidalia onions instead of red in both places, because i had one sitting on my counter. i replaced the fresh breadcrumbs with whole wheat panko. i could have sworn that the recipe called for cilantro, so i bought a bunch. i used the herb to replace the parsley in the chickpea mixture. for the relish, i used mint instead of the parsley, increased the cucumber and tomato, and eliminated the olive oil. and, i replaced the honey in the tahini sauce with agave.when i made this, i decided to deal with roasting the eggplant, then i set out in a mad dash to get everything else done. this worked for me, by the skin of my teeth, but if you're looking for more of a relaxed cooking experience, make the tahini sauce first and make sure to prep the relish ingredients before starting everything else.lastly. while i was perfectly content eating one-fourth of the leftovers the next day for lunch, i felt like the night before at dinner, i definitely should have planned to serve it alongside something else, like a salad.stuffed eggplants2 eggplants, (about 12 ounces each) (mine were both slightly bigger)3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided1 can (15 ounces) no-salt added chickpeas, drained and rinsed2 large eggs2 garlic cloves, peeled and quartered1/4 cup chopped onion1/4 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro1 tablespoon tahini2 teaspoons olive oil1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin1/2 teaspoon ground coriander1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepperrelish recipe (below)tahini sauce recipe (below)heat oven to 475˚f. halve eggplants lengthwise; score cut sides of in crosshatch pattern. place eggplant halves, cut side down, on aluminum foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. bake 7 minutes, or until slightly tender and browned. carefully scoop out pulp, leaving a 3/4-inch shell (reserve pulp for another use). season eggplant with 1/4 teaspoon salt.meanwhile, in bowl of food processor, combine chickpeas, eggs, garlic, onion, breadcrumbs, cilantro, tahini, olive oil, cumin, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. process 1 minute, or until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl, if necessary.fill each eggplant with 1/2 cup chickpea mixture, spreading smooth. bake 25 minutes, or until eggplant is tender and chickpea mixture is lightly browned and puffed. place eggplant on plates. top each eggplant half with a heaping 1/3 cup relish and 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini sauce.relish2 medium tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped1 cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded and chopped1/2 small vidalia onion, thinly sliced vertically1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, julienned1 tablespoon fresh lemon juicein bowl, combine all ingredients.tahini sauce3 tablespoons warm water2 tablespoons tahini1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice1 teaspoon agave1/2 teaspoon ground cumin1 garlic clove, finely choppedin bowl, whisk together all ingredients.